Yule
Hope, brighter days and making noise in the orchard 🍎
“A sleeping world in sepia tones - except the holly berries that shine, blood red, against the brown. They are wet with thawed frost, the colour of passion and ferocity, and of the heart.“
Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living by Tiffany Francis-Baker
Hello, my lovely.
Happy Yule to you! Put the fairy lights on - it’s time to make some magick ✨️
I know so many witches who cannot WAIT for Yule this year. The 21st December is the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the calendar year. How magickal it is that the night can be so long, giving us chance to light candles and cluster around the fire with a tower of mince pies as tall as the tree.
But the real reason we look forward to the solstice is the lengthening of days. From 21st onwards, the days are getting longer and longer. Although it will only just be winter, this means the countdown to spring has begun! Say hello to the daylight.
This is a festival for celebrating hope, rebirth and good, hearty grub. This is your official witchy permission to eat, drink and get very merry!
A big “omg yay” from me!
The Green Witch Newsletter just hit 2,000 subscribers! 🥰 That’s a whopping 2,000 witchy people gathered together to learn all about witchcraft and living in tune with nature! Thank you SO incredibly much for your support - it means the world to me to have you here! To celebrate, you can get 20% off an annual paid membership to The Green Witch between now and 31st December. Claim your limited-time offer today!
In this Yule edition of The Green Witch, I’ll be sharing:
ways to celebrate the festival
your last-minute gift guide!
the essential healing plants for winter
a beautiful Yule simmer pot and home blessing
As you know, I took a step back from my author events this year but I’m BACK, and ready to meet you at your nearest bookshop. Stay tuned for more news.
Have a gorgeous Yule! You deserve soft lights, cinnamon and a stack of leather-bound books.
How to celebrate Yule
Your guide to bringing in the Winter Solstice light:
Yule-ify your altar: use reds, golds, dark greens, pomanders or orange slices, your very own yule log (traditionally in Britain, this would have been an oak or a birch), pine cones, chestnuts and plenty of candles to represent the renewed solstice sun.
Bring nature indoors: last week I shared a post about the true magick of evergreens. Take your pick of pine, holly, ivy or mistletoe and allow their winter vitality to permeate your home.
Go wassailing: coming from the Old English ‘was hál’, meaning ‘be hale’ or ‘good health’, wassailing is an old tradition where villagers visited local orchards and made a general hullabaloo by banging pots and pans and singing at the top of their lungs! This was to ensure a bountiful harvest next year and people's efforts were often rewarded with something warm and mulled. Cheers to that!
Speaking of which, make this easy apple-spiced wassail drink to see you through the long nights. Delish.
A stunning wassail drink from Outdoor Apothecary Create a Yule feast with tender seasonal veg. Aim to use Brussels sprouts, beetroot, leeks, carrots and winter squashes - they’re fresher, tastier and so much better for the environment.
Perform a ritual: use this solar opportunity to leave anything that no longer serves you in the “long dark” and prepare for brighter days ahead. What is it that you want to welcome in as the daylight grows? Sit in front of your altar and light a candle for every new habit or promise to yourself.
Watch the sunrise and say a blessing for the year ahead. This doesn't have to be at a sacred site (like Stonehenge or Newgrange), it could be up on a local hill or from your bedroom window.
A VERY GREEN WITCH SORT OF NOTE: Decorating your altar or sacred space with fresh holly and pine boughs is a beautiful way to raise a glass to the season and connect us with the earth. However, it’s important to never take too much from nature - try to collect branches that have already fallen to the ground. If you can’t find any, always remember to ask the tree’s permission before you snip some leaves (and listen to its reply).
Your last-minute gift guide 🎄
Keep your friends and family’s world magickal this Yule:
For your witchy best mate ❤️
The Wheel or a yearly subscription to The Green Witch (with 20% off until 31st Dec 2024)
For someone who needs to know everything will be OK 🤗
The Witch's Survival Guide or buy a Distance Reiki voucher
For the reader who likes their coffee black and their books even darker 🦇
The Black Air
For the big-hearted child (aged 9-12) who loves a happy ending 📚
The Second-Hand Boy
Enjoy! x
The 5 essential healing plants for Yule
Believe it or not, the festive season should be one of rest (but tell that to the high street)! Our ancestors knew it but twenty-first-century life keeps telling us to go go go even though it’s dark at 3 pm.
At this time of year, our nervous system deserves a reset - and there are healthier, more magickal ways to do it than turning to the cheeseboard.
The herbs and plants below offer calming and soothing remedies that every witch should have in their store cupboard. These plants support us with a gentle green hand to get our adrenal glands out of fight or flight. Here are some of my absolute staples (and favourites!) for replenishing the soul in the face of “the winter sads”.
Find more ways to survive the season in The Witch’s Survival Guide.
1. Hawthorn berries
Hawthorn berries, otherwise known as the “herbalist's heart tonic”, pack a punch of vitamins during the winter months, giving us the energy we need to power through another roast dinner. They strengthen the cardiovascular system, improve circulation and help lower blood pressure. A miracle berry? I’d say so! It is also rich in antioxidants like flavonoids, which reduce inflammation and anxiety.
Uses: protection, love, courage
Fun fact: In Celtic mythology, hawthorn trees were believed to be portals to the faery world and were often left undisturbed in the landscape out of reverence. Tip: never mess with a hawthorn tree.
2. Tulsi
Oh, we do love an adaptogen. Tulsi supports stress relief, adrenal healing and immunity - the perfect winter tonic. It is known as “The Queen of Herbs,” regulating cortisol and boosting antioxidants, making it ideal for recuperation during a bout of anxiety or burnout. Tulsi also aids spiritual growth, purification and provides protection against negativity.
Uses: de-stressing, healing, spiritual growth, shielding one’s energy
3. Birch polypore fungus
Birch polypore is an adaptogen that resets stress, boosts immunity and has anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antiseptic properties for all those winter coughs and sneezes. Found on birch trees in the colder months, it’s easy to forage responsibly. Add a small piece to tea for inner resilience.
Uses: stress reset, adrenal support, immune strength
Note: Please, please, please use a mushroom guide when foraging!
4. Lemon balm
Mood-boosting lemon balm is a joy forever. It eases anxiety, improves sleep and generally just smells gorgeous. Its citrusy taste is a stress-buster and can relieve physical symptoms of stress, like upset stomachs. Known as the “happy herb,” lemon balm’s calming effects last up to six hours. Even better, it grows like crazy; plant out a sprig of lemon balm and you’ll find your garden overrun with happiness half a year later!
Uses: healing, anti-anxiety, joy (also great for relieving puffy skin)
Fun fact: Melissa (part of lemon balm’s Latin name, Melissa officinalis) means “honey bee” in Greek.
5. Oat straw
My go-to blend every time I feel the anxiety start to quiver in my chest is oat straw with rose and honey. Bliss. Oat straw nourishes the nervous system, reduces anxiety and eases insomnia without making you drowsy in the daytime. It is rich in minerals and supports calm energy. Basically, it’s peace and grounding in a cup.
Uses: calm, sleep, anti-anxiety, stability
A yuletide simmer pot and blessing
Ahhh, the scents of Yule! Simmer pots are becoming more and more popular, especially for those who aren’t able to light incense or candles in their home. Instead, a simmer pot is a pan (or cauldron) of hot water filled with herbs, plants and fruits, all designed to permeate your home with delicious scents. The ingredients I’ve used below are designed to promote prosperity and joy while also uplifting and protecting our energies in this manic season. It’s the same pot I make every Yule.
Create your simmer pot and repeat the blessing below for happiness and abundance in 2025.
You’ll need:
1 large pot filled with hot water
4-5 orange slices
1 handful of foraged pine needles
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp nutmeg
1 handful of fresh or rehydrated cranberries
3-5 star anise
5 cloves
Put everything in the pot on the stove and bring it to simmer point.
As your pot begins to simmer for the first time, hold your hands over it and say: “Blessed waters, carry my prayer:
create joy to fill the heart and light to fill the home.
Let abundance flow like the rivers of the earth,
steady and sure, as the seasons turn.
May this year be fruitful, our spirits ever lifted:
with gratitude, I call this into being.”Let the pot simmer gently with the lid off for up to two hours (refresh your ingredients if you want to keep the pot going).
- TIP: Start off your pot early in the morning so the scents infuse your home all day long.
I'll see you on the next turn of the Wheel: Imbolc will be here on Saturday 1st February 2025. Watch out for your newsletter a few days before. See you then!
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